Dispensing envelope



Oct. 22, 1940, H. H. REINEMAN DISPENSING ENVELOPE Filed Dec. 22, 1938 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 22, 1940 UNITED" STATES.

, DISPENSING ENVELOPE Howardll. Reineman, Brighton, N. Y. Application December 22, 1938, Serial No. 247,156

8 Claims.

My invention relates in general to envelopes, and more particularly to an envelope adapted to enable "the convenient dispensing of pills, capsules, candy, chiclets and other materials.

An object of my invention is the provision of an envelope of simple construction, capable of being formed from a single sheet of material, and adapted for convenient filling by a doctor or druggist with pills or capsules and convenient use by patients to enable the extraction of one or more pills or capsules from the envelope and the reclosing of the envelope against the accidental displacement of the contents from the envelope.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a novel envelope structure for use by a doctor or druggist for dispensing pills or capsules wherein the filling opening'is adapted to be closed after the pills or capsules have been inserted in the envelope, the filling opening being so constructed and arranged that a portion thereof is sealed while the remainder is maintained closed to prevent the pills or capsules from accidently falling out of the envelope, but is capable of being opened to enable the dispensing of the contents of the envelope upon releasing a portion of the envelope from beneath a retaining flap.

My invention further contemplates an envelope so constructed and arranged that after filling with pills, capsules, candy or other material, the filling opening thereof may be partially closed and sealed to leave an opening, adapted to be releasably closed, which when open forms a convenient pouring spout capable of confining the materials as they are poured to a small restricted area.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description,

when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the envelope with the flaps thereof in extended position;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the envelope of Fig. 1, showing the sealing flap, the retaining flap. and the dispensing opening;

Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, with the dispensing opening closed by folding down the corner of the envelope so that the margins of the dispensing opening underlie the retaining fl p;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the sealing flap folded down in sealing position;

Fig. 5 is a view showing the dispensing opening with the margins thereof released from beneath the retaining fiap to enable the convenient d1spensing of pills or capsules;

Fig. 6 is a view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5

. in the direction indicatedby the arrows; and

Fig. 7 is a view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4 5 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

The envelope of my invention is primarily intended for use by doctorsor druggists in dis- 10 pensing pills or capsules so that they may be conveniently carried by the patient without the pills or capsules spilling or falling out of the envelope into the pocket of the patient. However, the general principles of the envelope of 15 my invention may be applied to envelopes for other uses.

The envelope is adapted to be made from a single sheet of paper, preferably but not necessarily relatively stiff, properly blanked and scored 20 to adapt the blank for subsequent folding into envelope shape. The envelope comprises, in genera], a front wall H, and a rear wall, indicated as.a whole by the numeral l2 formed by folding the blank along the edges l3 and M to provide 25 back sections 16 and H. The back sections l5 and I1 overlap as shown at l8, and are sealed by adhesive. Along the bottom edge 2| of the front wall the blank is extended to'provide a flap I9 which is folded along the bottom edge 30 to overlie the the back wall sections l6 and IT. The flap I9 is sealed to the back sections l6 and H by suitable adhesive to thus form an envelope which is open at its top edge as shown at 22 and closed at the other three edges. The 35 above manner of forming the envelope is shown and described by way of illustration only, as it will be apparent that the envelope may be formed in any well known manner.

Extending from the back wall section I6, be- 40 yond the overlapped and sealed portions I8 between the back sections, is a fiap 23, the outer edge 25 of which may be of any desired shape. The flap may be moved out of its normal plane contiguous to the back wayy section I! about the 45 line Z4. Extending preferably from the upper edge 26 of the front wall is a flap 21, the back face of which is coated with adhesive, as shown at 28. The flap- 21 may be of any suitable shape and size, but preferably extends about half way across the top edge of the envelope, and preferably has its edge 29 conforming in shape to the edge 25 of the fiap 23. The remainder of the opening 22 constitutes a dispensing opening or pouring spout, and is indicated by the numeral 32. While the flap 21 has been shown as extending about half way across the filling opening, this is by way of illustration only and is governed by the size of the articles contained in themvelope and the size of the envelope. The width of the fiap 21 is primarily determined by the size of the pouring spout desired. With larger envelopes the flap 21 will usually be made wider.

To enable convenient separation of the front wall H and the back section I! when pills or capsules are to be dispensed from the envelope, the front wall is extended or rounded upward slightly, as shown at 33, while the back section I! is cut down slightly, as shown at 34, so that the margins of the dispensing opening formed by the front wall and back section I! do not coincide. Formed in the front wall section I l and extending obliquely fromsubstantially the edge of the sealing flap 21, as shown at. 38, is a score line 31 which extends to the edge ll of the envelope. A similar and coincident score line 38 is formed in the back section I! to thus form a flap 35 which will be termed, for convenience, a dispensing flap.

In using the envelope, the doctor or druggist, after inserting the pills or capsules in the envelope through the filling opening 22, folds down the dispensing fiap 35 along the score lines 31 and 38, if necessary creasing the envelope along the score lines as it is folded. Then upon lifting the corner of the retaining flap 23, which may be accomplished conveniently with the finger or thumb nail, the dispensing fiap 35 may be tucked under the retaining flap 23. The parts of the envelope are then in the position shown in Fig. 3. The sealing flap 21 may then be folded down and sealed to the back section IS, with the edge 29 coincident with the edge 25 of the retaining fiap 23. With the sealing flap 2! folded down the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4. In this position of the parts a portion of the sealing flap overlies the retaining flap 23 so that two thicknesses of material are provided which form a relatively stiff flap for retaining the dispensing fiap 35 in closed or tucked position.

When pills or capsules are to be removed from the envelope, the finger or thumb nail may be conveniently slid beneath the edge 4| of the dispensing flap 35 to enable the flap to be lifted from its position beneath the retaining flap 23. The finger or thumb nail may be then inserted between the margins 33 and 35 of the dispensing opening while pressing in at the sides I3 and H to separate the front and back walls of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 6. The pills or capsules then maybe conveniently poured from the dispensing opening 32.

When the desired number of pills or capsules have been removed from the envelope, the comer of the retaining fiap 23 may be lifted and the dispensing fiap 35 tucked under the retaining flap. With the dispensing flap 35 retained in position beneath the fiap 23 and the overlying portion of the sealing flap 28, the dispensing fiap 35 is held in position by a double thickness of material so that the envelope may be conveniently carried without the dispensing flap becoming released and the pills or capsules falling out of the envelope into the pocket.

While I have described the preferred form of my invention, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be made therein, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An envelope of the character degaribed comprising a front and rear wall, one of said walls being formed of two layers of material each extending only part way across the envelope and the retaining flap.

2. An envelope of the character described. comprising a front and rear wall, one of said walls being formed of two layers of material each extending only part way across the envelope and being adhesively joined to each other along a seam to form the wall, the outer one of said two layers extending laterally beyond the adhesive joint to form a retaining flap with a free edge, said envelope having an unsealed dispensing opening, and a flap adjacent said dispensing opening formed by folding down a corner of the envelope along an oblique line, said flap when folded down to close the opening being arranged to underlie the free edge of the retaining flap.

3. An envelope of the character described comprising a front and rear wall, one of said walls being formed of two layers of material each extending only part way across the envelope and being adhesively joined to each other along a seam to form the wall, the outer one of said two layers extending laterally beyond the adhesive joint to form a retaining flap with a free edge, said envelope having an unsealed dispensing opening, portions of the margins of said dispensing opening being folded down to underlie said retaining flap.

4. An envelope of the'character described comprising a front and rear wall, said front and rear walls being closed along all but one edge thereof, the filling opening for the envelope being along said open edge, a sealing flap along said edge integral with one of said walls for closing a portion of said filling opening and leaving a portion unclosed to constitute a dispensing opening, a retaining flap having a free edge, and a flap adjacent said dispensing opening adapted to be folded down to underlie the free edge of the retaining flap.

5. An envelope of the character described comprising a front and rear wall, said front and rear walls being closed along all but one edgethereof, the filling opening for the envelope being along said open edge, a retaining flap having a free edge, a sealing flap at one side of the open edge of the envelope and projecting from one of said walls, said sealing fiap being adapted to be sealed down to close a portion of the filling opening and with a part of the sealing flap adhesively secured to the free edge of .the retaining flap, and a flap adapted to close substantially the remainder of said filling opening formed by folding down the corner of the envelope on an oblique line, said fiap being adapted to underlie the free edge of the retaining flap and the overlying portion of the I sealing flap.

portion of said filling opening and leaving a portion unclosed to constitute a pouring spout, a retaining flap having a free edge, the sealing flap being folded down and overlying the retaining flap and the material adjacent the pouring spout being folded down to underlie the retaining flap, the envelope being so constructed and arranged that a section through the retaining portion of the envelope cuts through six thicknesses of material so that the envelope is relatively stiff at this point.

7. An envelope of the character described comprising a front and rear wall, one of said walls having extendimherefrom a retaining flap with a free edge, said envelope having an unsealed dispensing opening, and a closure flap adjacent said dispensing opening formed by folding down a corner of the envelope along a single oblique line, the whole of said closure flap when folded down lying on one side of said envelope and being tucked beneath the free edge of the retaining flap to hold said closure flap in closed position.

8. An envelope of the character described comprising a front and rear Wall, one of said walls having extending therefrom a retaining flap with a free edge, said envelope having an unsealed dispensing opening, portions of the margins of said dispensing opening being folded down against one side only of the envelope to underlie said retaining flap and close the dispensing opening, said closing of the dispensing opening being accomplished by a single folding operation.

HOWARD H. REINEMAN. 

